DIRECTIONS

Clean the mushrooms and remove any woody stems. Finely mince the mushrooms in a food processor.

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add the minced mushrooms and cook until they're soft and the water they give off has mostly evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, mushrooms, 1/2 cup green onions, bread, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste until everything is well combined. Form the meat mixture into 3-inch balls.

Heat the skillet in which you cooked the mushrooms over a medium-high flame and add the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Put the meatballs into the skillet (if you don't have room, do this in batches). Brown the meatballs on all sides until they are crusty and well caramelized.

Pour the Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup into the skillet and turn the meatballs so they are all coated with the sauce. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook another 10 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is bubbling and slightly thickened.

To serve, place each meatball on a roll, spoon over some of the sauce from the pan, and sprinkle with green onions. Serve immediately.

RECIPE BACKSTORY

I made these meatball sliders on a morning when my 15-year-old's string quartet was rehearsing in the living room. Those poor kids had to smell this cooking for half an hour while they tried to play Beethoven. Talk about distraction! After their rehearsal they polished off a huge platter of these sliders in less than 10 minutes.
I love meatballs in any form, but sliders make them finger food and thus even more awesome. The flavors of the chopped mushrooms in the meat mixture and the Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup sauce are a perfect pairing.
Submitted by: "Erika Kerekes"